The 14 most expensive teenagers in football history

Real Madrid have secured the signature of Brazilian wonderkid Endrick. The 16-year-old attacker will join the Spanish giants in July 2024 – when he turns 18 – for a fee that could rise up to €72million.

Endrick, who was born in 2006, is the most expensive 16-year-old in the history of football. He’s exploded onto the scene at Palmeiras and many have tipped him to become one of the best players in the world.

But how does his fee stack up against the most expensive teenagers in history?

Players with large transfer fees often fail to justify their fee, as we’ve seen a number of the most expensive transfers ever completely flop after a big move, but there is often more sympathy when it comes to pricey teenagers as they have more time to become who they promise to be.

We’ve listed the 14 most expensive teenagers in football history, and whilst most moved in recent years, there are a few whose transfers withstood the test of time to still remain as one of the priciest ever.

It’s a mixed bag of success…

14. Ousmane Dembele

The French winger was sensational when he broke through at Rennes, prompting youth development specialists Borussia Dortmund to spend £31.5million on the 19-year-old.

Dembele was such a hit at Dortmund that just one season later Barcelona paid over £100million and £35million in addons for his services, but injuries have meant that his time at the Camp Nou has been overall underwhelming with flashes of quality.

But the French World Cup winner has become a more consistent player over time, earning a new contract at the club when it looked like he might leave on a free. Barcelona have had to be incredibly patient but it looks as though they might be getting their money’s worth.

13. Renato Sanches

The midfielder starred as Portugal won Euro 2016, and this was enough to convince Bayern Munich to part with an initial £31.5million for the 19-year-old.

However, Sanches failed to settle at the German champions, and a disastrous loan at Swansea City didn’t help.

He eventually moved onto Lille in France and has since found some consistency at last. He’s now at PSG – and with more experience, hopefully he’ll fare better with this big-money move.

12. Dejan Kulusevski

When the Swedish winger was just a teenager, he was starring on loan at Parma from Atalanta, prompting Juventus to spend £31.5million on the 19-year-old in January 2020 before loaning him back to Parma.

Kulusevski never replicated his Parma performances in…